


Remember Me

by Xazien



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-06
Updated: 2016-06-13
Packaged: 2018-07-12 17:40:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7115836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xazien/pseuds/Xazien
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>People all across Thedas are celebrating the death of Corypheus, but Merrill is among those mourning the ones lost in the battle. Hawke is gone, trapped in The Fade, maybe forever. But, after meeting a mysterious stranger who reminds Merrill of the power of blood magic, Merrill sets out on a mission to find The Inquisitor and make them venture into The Fade and bring Hawke back: whether they want to or not.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Veil

All across Thedas the taverns were full, the ballrooms were alive, the streets were full of revellers long into the night. ‘The Elder One is dead!’, they would cry, singing praise to The Maker, his Bride and her Herald. ‘Praise be The Inquisition!’. From Ferelden to Orlais, from Nevarra to Tevinter, from The Free Marches to The Anderfels and all across the Waking and Eastern Seas, the people of Thedas partied the night away. And why shouldn’t they? Order had been restored. The monsters were all dead. The world was saved. So loud and widespread were the celebrations, in fact, that it was impossible to account for anyone not joining in the revelry. People such as the small, timid elven girl with the wooden box.

The small girl knelt on the floor of her hovel in the tumultuous city of Kirkwall, sobbing over a collection of trinkets. A blood red scarf. A wooden Halla statue. A sylvanwood ring. And, in the middle of them all, a small wooden box full of glass shards. Shards that reflected the girl’s tattooed face and the tears that streamed down it.

“Why...” Merrill sobbed, holding her face in her hands. “Why... why her? Hadn’t she given enough?”

Merrill felt herself shaking as she stared at the shards of glass in the box. The shards of glass that had once been an Eluvian. Why? Why had she been so stupid, so foolish as to shatter the mirror? The things she could do with it had she kept it intact... she could have fixed it. She could have ventured physically into The Fade. She could have brought Hawke back, snatched her from the jaws of the monster that Loghain and The Inquisitor had abandoned her to. But she couldn’t. Hawke was gone forever.

“It’s not too late, you know.”

Merrill clenched her fist, refusing to look up. She wouldn’t. She wouldn’t give in.

“Oh come now, girl,” said the tall, slender figure with the veiled face that glided across the floor of the hovel, staring down at Merrill with obscured eyes. “What price is too great to pay for love? Surely any sacrifice is necessary, because what sacrifice could hurt more than the loss of your beloved Tamra?”

“I won’t!” Merrill cried, leaping up and jutting a finger at the figure, tears still streaming down her face. “I don’t know why I ever started listening to you. I don’t know why I ever confided in you, or let you into my home. Go!”

“Oh girl...” the veiled figure chided. “You know not what you’re saying. I want to help you. You know how to save Hawke. You know what must be done. You simply lack the resolve to do it. Or perhaps you do not love Tamra Hawke enough to bring her back?”

“I-” Merrill faltered. “I... Hawke and I both swore to never use blood magic again, not after the rebellion. I couldn’t betray her.”

“You believe saving her would be a betrayal?” the veiled figure laughed. “Foolish. You are weak, girl, you are a coward. You are not deserving of the great Champion of Kirkwall. You are not even worthy to stand with me. Be gone, and may your precious Hawke rot in The Beyond forevermore.”

“How dare you?” Merrill hissed. “I loved Tamra! I still do! If there was a way, if there was any other way, I... I...”

Merrill faltered again, and then cursed. She stamped her bare foot, sending sparks and arcs of lightning across the floor. The veiled figure allowed themselves a hidden smile.

“Fine,” Merrill said. “I’ll do it. If it’s the only way to get her back, I’ll do it. I’ll use my blood magic.”

“Perfect,” the veiled figure said, triumph in their voice. “Oh, my girl, this is truly perfect.”

The veiled figure glided behind Merrill and laid a slender hand upon the elf’s shoulder, whispering into her ear.

“The Inquisitor, the ‘Herald of Andraste’, used that cursed mark upon her hand to trap your beloved in The Beyond forever.” The figure reached into their robes and drew out a long, thin, bloodstained knife and lay it in Merrill’s shaking palm. “This False Herald can use the same power to bring her back. All she needs is for someone to make the decision for her...”


	2. My Fair Lady

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inquisitor Mercuria Adaar meets with a powerful contact in the nobility before reflecting on those lost during the war against Corypheus, unaware that the danger to her is not yet fully over

Inquisitor Mercuria Adaar sat in her favourite chair in a small meeting room in Skyhold, sipping tea from a small china cup. She looked over the rim of the teacup as she sipped at the young, beautiful woman that sat across the table from her, perfect features illuminated in the candlelight. The woman, smiling as she went, held a matching china cup of tea in her slim, pale hands before raising it delicately to her full, black-painted lips and taking a small sip. The two women laid down their cups at the same time, smiling to each other across the table.

They looked an odd pair. Mercuria Adaar, the Vitaar-faced Qunari, her casual dress showing off both her fine, curved figure and her dramatic collection of deep scars and burns. Her wide hips and shoulders, her great height and her curved horns gave her a physical presence that filled the room, making the woman across the table seem truly unassuming. The woman across the table was a slim, dainty little thing with a beautiful, tailor-made dress of purple silk and lace. Her face had a dark beauty about it, with her black-painted lips and heavy-lidded black eyes, which contrasted with her pale, flawless complexion. Her presence in the room was one far exceeding that which her physicality should allow. But her person had an aura, an energy radiating from her very being that left an electrical vibe in the air. These two women, unequal both in size and fame and station, left equally large presences in the tiny room they were in.

There were many rumours about Lady Vayl. Some said she was a sorceress, come from a far-off land where magic was celebrated and commonplace, sent to Thedas to spread her mystical and long-lost practices among the people. Some said she was a woman of minor noble heritage who had murdered her way up the social ladder, bathing in the blood of each superior she had slain. Some said that she was a contract killer, one that even the Antivan Crows refused to cross, and that her body count was in the mid thousands and her pockets were filled to the brim with blood money. All Mercuria Adaar knew, however, was that she ran a courier service that spanned the whole of Thedas and that she could acquire any item for any individual in the whole of Thedas. If, of course, the price was right.

“My lady Inquisitor,” Lady Vayl said politely, batting her eyelids. “It has been truly delightful having tea with you. I believe our discussions have been most... enlightening.” The Lady smiled coyly.

Mercuria felt stirrings that she immediately suppressed. Lady Vayl was almost irresistible, but Mercuria wasn’t a damn teenager. She could stay focussed on the meeting.

“I do hope our talks have been mutually beneficial, Lady Vayl,” Mercuria said, composing herself. “Would you say an agreement has been reached? A partnership between your organisation and mine? I promise you, the benefits of co-operation with The Inquisition are substantial.”

“Ah,” Lady Vayl smiled another coy smile. “Well, I truly cannot deny an opportunity to work with the might Inquisition and its holy Herald.” Lady Vayl grinned mischievously as she rose from her chair and stared, one eyebrow raised playfully, down at Mercuria. “You shall here from my people by tomorrow, Lady Inquisitor. This has truly been a pleasure.”

And with that, Lady Vayl gave a delicate wave goodbye as she left the room.

“Maker,” Mercuria said, leaning back in her chair and wiping her brow. She’d been in meetings like this all day. Long gone were her days of leading troops into battle, Mercuria realised. Since the death of Corypheus her greatest battle was against boredom, brought on by weeks of endless bureaucracy and formality. She just wished every important delegate she’d met with since the war had been won had been as engaging as Lady Vayl.

Sighing, Mercuria pulled herself up out of her chair, blew out the candles and headed out of the room. Sera would be waiting for her in bed, and she didn’t want to keep her waiting. Mercuria was in no mood for sex that night, but it was always nice having someone to hold at night. She was lucky, she realised. There were a lot of empty beds out there in Thedas after the conflicts of the prior years.

As Mercuria made her way through Skyhold towards her bedroom she noticed a small, lit room out of the corner of her eye. The small office that had once been occupied by Solas, before his unexplained disappearance in the ruins of Haven. Someone was in there, reading by candlelight. Someone short, with a huge multi-limbed crossbow leant against their chair.

“One of those nights, is it, Varric?” Mercuria said sympathetically as she ducked under the doorway and entered the room, looking with pity at the bleary-eyed dwarf in the chair before her.

Varric Tethras sighed and wiped his eyes, not looking up from the letter he was reading. After his eyelids began to droop he sighed, giving up in his endeavour and laying down the letter before looking up at Mercuria’s sympathetic face.

“Sure is,” Varric said, failing to hide the tiredness in his voice. “I’ve just been... reading. A letter I found, at the bottom of my bag. Here,” her said, passing Mercuria the letter. “Have a read.”

Holding the letter delicately, acknowledge its precious nature, Mercuria began to read.

_Varric,_

_You’d love Chateau Haine, I know I do. Ham that tastes of despair, little snails with garlic, bowls of fruit from all across the world. Apparently the fruit was made of wax, but I didn’t mind. Carver did mind. I probably should have told him._

_By the time this reaches you me and Tallis will have boldly stolen into the depths of the vaults, plucked the jewel from Duke Such-and-Whoever’s pampered hands and made off into the night. I hope you’re keeping the gang in control. I knew I couldn’t go to place like this without bringing Merrill, despite the fact it would mean one less check on Isabela. And how are Anders and Fenris without me to keep control? When will the funerals be? Please tell Sebastian not to sing at them. That would just be embarrassing, especially if he started pretending he liked Anders._

_Merrill seems to be really in love with this place. She can’t spend enough time in the gardens. Once we get back to Kirkwall, and this Mage-Templar thing blows over, I think I’m going to ask her to marry me. And I think we’ll get married here. If Duke Fancy-Whatever lets us back._

_Stay safe,_

_Hawke_

Mercuria felt awkward as she passed the letter back to Varric, who was lying back in the chair with his head rested on one hand. He took the letter, smiled sadly at it and placed it back on the desk.

“I’ve started getting responses to the letters I sent out,” Varric said finally. “About... about Hawke. About Adamant. Carver has... not taken it well. I doubt I’ll be hearing much from him again. Aveline acted brave but I can read subtext, I know what she’s really feeling. I haven’t heard back from Isabela yet but I imagine she’d hardly in the area right now, and I assume Sebastian hasn’t even opened the letter I sent him. As for Anders and Fenris I can’t track them down. Anders is for obvious reasons though, and last I heard Fenris had gone somewhere far north to sort out some unfinished business. I...” Varric’s voice cracked, and Mercuria had to put an arm around him as a tear welled up in his eye. “I have no idea where Merrill is,” he croaked. “I sent my letter to Kirkwall, and Aveline said in her reply that Merrill is back in town and got the message, but...” Varric steeled himself, sighing deeply and clenching his fist. “Maker, oh damn Maker Daisy, I hope you’re ok...”

Mercuria didn’t know what to say. She’d spent over a year comforting the bereaved, speaking at funerals, joining in mourning, but every time Hawke came up she just went numb. Mercuria had told Tamra Hawke to die for her. She had looked the Champion of Kirkwall in the eye and told her to stay, fight and die in The Fade while she and Loghain had fled. And, after that crime, that sin, that stain upon her soul, she hadn’t even been brave enough to tell Varric what had happened. She’d left Cassandra to do it. She was a coward.

“Maker, I’ve kept you up too long,” Varric laughed weakly, looking up at Mercuria. “I’ll be fine here, you... you just go to bed, ok? Best not to keep Sera waiting.”

Mercuria shot one last smile at Varric, her expression one of more guilt than anything else, before turning to leave the room. She felt a tear well up in her own eye as she walked across the hall to the staircase leading up to her room. She was in tears by the time she’d slipped into the room and curled up with the slumbering Sera, thinking guiltily about the little elven girl out there with no-one to sleep with at night.

***

Two Inquisition soldiers stood guard on the battlements, their well-polished armour reflecting the moonlight they patrolled under. They paid little attention to their surroundings, thinking merely of the end of their shift and the hot meal they would have after. They both failed to notice the swift, lithe figure moving about in the darkness, slinking around in the shadows as it made its way through the fortress. Without casting a single spell, or spilling so much as a drop of blood, the figure slipped into the main fortress of Skyhold. Just like they had been promised, the pathway was clear. The doors were all unlocked and the guards slept soundly in their beds.

Merrill tiptoed lightly through Skyhold, her glowing Dalish eyes scanning the room nervously as she approached The Inquisitor’s room. She was waiting for a guard to spring out and cut her down, for The Inquisitor to awake and strike her down, for her benefactor to appear flanked by Templars and declare it all an elaborate trap. No. She must shake those thoughts from her head, Merrill realised as she slowly drew her knife from her belt. She was here to get Hawke back, and she was going to succeed. No matter what.

She had been making her way up to The Inquisitor’s room and was now at the top of the stairs, her bare feet barely making a sound on the cold stone floor. Her lips pursed her and her breath bated, Merrill slowly pushed open the bedroom door. It was silent, by a blessing from The Creators themselves. From here Merrill could see Mercuria Adaar and her lover Sera lying in a deep sleep on the bed before her. Merrill flexed her fingers and summoned an orange cloud of magical energy in her hand, which she blew over the sleeping Sera. There would be no risk of her waking up for the next few hours. Now for the harder part.

Merrill winced as she drew the dagger across her palm, drawing a line of blood that glowed faintly with an eerie, foreboding light that chilled Merrill to the bone. Merrill made a small, simple gesture and the small line of blood came alive, flitting up off her hand and darting from her palm towards the sleeping Qunari before her. The blood teased its way through Mercuria’s lips, through her mouth and down her throat.

And then Mercuria opened her eyes.

Slowly, with a dead and blank expression, Inquisitor Mercuria Adaar rose from the bed to stand over an awestruck Merrill. The Qunari stood there for a while, staring blankly ahead, before Merrill realised she was waiting for orders.

“You took something from me,” Merrill whispered. “You stole from me the most important thing in my world. And now you’re going to bring her back.”


	3. Fallen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merrill has enthralled The Inquisitor in a blood magic spell and whisked them away in the dead of night to sunder The Fade and bring Hawke back, leaving The Inquisition in chaos.

Commander Cullen felt the soft grass squash under his foot as he walked the grounds of Skyhold at night, breathing in the cold night air with relish. He could afford himself the small luxury of a moonlit walk from time to time, relieving himself of the burdens his job saddled him with. Cullen had little in his life, and so took pleasure in the small moments of leisure he was afforded. The world took the rest.

Cullen frowned as he heard a faint creaking sound across the keep, a small sound that nonetheless carried across the great courtyard during the silence of the night. Cullen was not a paranoid man, but his suspicion was enough that he drew his blade as he went to investigate. It had come from the stables. As he drew closer, he saw the guard he had posted on guard duty leant, unconscious, up against a post. Someone had opened the gate.

Cullen steeled himself and dived around the corner, blade raised high, stopping himself just before he could cut down the figure before him.

“Inquisitor Adaar?”

Cullen was taken aback as he saw The Inquisitor, eyes dead and face blank, robotically open two stable doors and slowly guide two fine horses out. Not even acknowledging her commander, Mercuria Adaar methodically went through the motions of saddling the horses, Cullen looking on in confusion.

“Inquisitor?” Cullen said, taking a nervous step forwards. He’d greeted The Inquisitor with a blade that had almost taken her head, and she hadn’t even looked at him. Something... something was very wrong.

Cullen’s instincts won out and he spun around, lashing out behind him with his blade, almost impaling the would-be assailant that had snuck up behind him. Instead, the lithe figure leapt away from the blade in the nick of time and dived aside, dodging death by the skin of their teeth. Cullen quickly recovered and pointed his blade at the figure’s throat. The figure took a tentative step back into a patch of moonlight, and Cullen could then see their tattooed face.

“You?” Cullen said suspiciously, raising his eyebrow at the small elven girl before him in the white armour. “You’re Hawke’s friend, aren’t you? The elf? What... what are you doing here?”

“Knight-Captain Cullen...” Merrill said tentatively, holding up her empty hands. “I am so sorry...”

Before he could question her strange response Cullen felt a sudden horrendous shock as a bolt of pure magical lightning struck him in the back. The former Templar screeched as the bolt of energy struck him in the back, but he wasn’t given time to recover as Merrill darted towards him and raised her hand. Palm coursing with a magical, electrical current, Merrill slapped Cullen in the face and sent him sprawling to the ground, his body erupting in violent spasms.

As the spasms subsided, Cullen’s vision cleared and he found himself looking up at the two mage assailants who’d attacked him. He stared with anger up at Merrill, the elven girl with the big green eyes who was looking down at him with guilt and pity. And he stared with shock at the second assailant, the attacker who’d shot him in the back with a bolt of lightning, who looked down on him with blank eyes that saw nothing at all.

“I’m so sorry, Cullen,” Merrill said. “Mercuria,” Merrill said to The Inquisitor. “Finish saddling the horses. We need to leave, there’s not much time.”

Still staring blankly, The Inquisitor turned wordlessly away from Merrill and resumed her preparation of the horses. Cullen felt his mouth go dry as Merrill reached behind her and picked up a staff she’d leant up against the side of the barn.

“I’m so sorry, Cullen,” Merrill said, raising the staff above her head. “But it’s the only way.”

Merrill brought down the blunt end of the staff on Cullen’s head, and it all went black.

***

“You,” Cullen seethed, “Have a lot to answer for.”

Skyhold had been in chaos since Cullen had been found, unconscious on the floor of the stable, and told everyone what had happened. The inner circle was bickering, the merchants were packing up to leave and the Chantry sisters were creating a melodramatic prayer circle while sobbing uncontrollably. Everyone was still trying to figure out how it had happened, how the stables and gates had been left unlocked, how the guard rota had been changed to minimise the number of guards near The Inquisitor’s chambers. Cullen was at the end of his tether trying to piece everything back together, and then Varric had tipped him over the edge.

“You harboured a maleficar for SEVEN YEARS?” Cullen thundered, pointing a jutting figure at Varric. The dwarf was gritting his teeth at the tirade of abuse Cullen was hurling at him, but let the Commander vent.

“SEVEN YEARS, dwarf!” Cullen continued. “In KIRKWALL? And you told NO-ONE? You and Hawke were keeping a blood mage in your inner circle of friends since before the Deep Roads Expedition and you never told me? Not even after the rebellion? And now this blood mage you’ve harboured, allowed to grow in power, has enthralled and kidnapped The Inquisitor?” Cullen clenched his fist, composing himself, before finally taking in a deep breath.

“Damn right I harboured a blood mage,” Varric said, pointing with anger up at Cullen. “She was my friend! She still is! Now I have no idea what the hell she was doing in Skyhold, or why she’d want The Inquisitor, but you can’t blame me just because I knew her! Someone around here needs to get this place under control before news gets out, then pick up their trail and find out where they went!”

Cullen scoffed and retorted, and soon both men were arguing in the middle of the courtyard while everything fell apart around them. The bickering continued until a much louder voice cut them off.

“WHERE IS SHE?”

Sera ran down the steps from the main fortress and ran up to Cullen and Varric, in flood of tears. She collapsed into both of them, wrapping them both into an awkward embrace as she sobbed and sobbed.

“We have to find her!” Sera said, breaking away from the two men and gesturing frantically to them. She was in full battle gear, with her bow and quiver of arrows already slung over her back. “Viv told me some blood mage elfy elf took her! No-one around here is doing anything, just arguin’! We need to find her!”

“Buttercup, Buttercup, calm down!” Varric said, trying to reassure the wildcard elf, but she was having none of it.

“You!” Sera pointed at an exasperated Cullen frantically. “You can use your soldier men! Put a team together! Quick, quick, quick! I’ll get some horses, we can pick up their trail!”

And with that Sera dashed off, leaving Varric and Cullen standing amidst the chaos.

“She’s right,” Cullen said firmly. “I’ll tell Cassandra that she’s in charge while we’re gone, if anyone can restore order around here then it’s her. I’ll put a team together, then we can hunt down and slay this maleficar and free The Inquisitor.”

“Wait a second!” Varric said angrily, grabbing Cullen’s arm to stop him. “Nobody is killing anybody! You’re not laying a finger on Daisy, and I’m coming with you to protect her!”

“I can’t stop you from coming, dwarf,” Cullen said suspiciously. “But if I decide it is safer to kill this maleficar than capture her, if it comes down to the blood mage or The Inquisitor, then I will do what is necessary.”

“I’m sure you will,” Varric muttered as Cullen left to find volunteers. “And so will I.”

***

Cullen’s team sat upon their steeds at the gates of Skyhold. Cullen himself was at the head, with Varric shooting him suspicious glares from his right. Sera was to the left of the commander, raring to go. Behind them was a squad of ten Inquisition soldiers, as well as an Inquisition mage academic named Jarther Slaction.

“You all know our mission,” Cullen called back to his team. “While I regret leaving Skyhold at such a tumultuous time as this, The Inquisitor must be saved from the thrall of this blood mage and brought back to Skyhold. The maleficar is dangerous and must be treated with extreme caution, do not hesitate to make a kill if necessary. The Inquisitor’s safety is our top priority. We’ll follow their trail to wherever The Inquisitor has been taken and then we will get the job done, understand?”

Nods from all round, with the obvious exception of Varric. They were ready to go.

“I understand that the maleficar is your friend,” Cullen muttered to Varric as they set off. “But know this: you will not stand in my way.”

***

Merrill and Mercuria had been riding without rest through the night, across The Frostbacks and through The Dales. Merrill was exhausted, but the strength gained from tapping into her blood magic had kept her going. Mercuria’s wishes or desires no longer mattered. The mighty Herald of Andraste was a puppet now, and Merrill was the puppeteer. But it would all be worth it. There was no other way.

The view in front of Merrill was incredible. The Emerald Graves were a beautiful forest, with such a rich elven history. Merrill felt her skin tingling with the raw spiritual energy in the air, the very soul of the forest making her feel alive. This was the perfect place. The perfect place to find a rift, have The Inquisitor enter The Fade and bring Hawke back. Merrill didn’t care how long it took to find her, be it an hour or a day or a thousand years. She was going to bring Hawke back.

Merrill felt her stomach turn as she sensed a familiar presence nearby, and dismounted her steed. She sent a mental command to Mercuria to follow along, and the wordless Qunari drone did so.

“I know you’re here!” Merrill called out into the forest. “I have her! I have The Inquisitor! Where are you? Where is the rift?”

Merrill felt a wave of dread pass over her as she saw the cloaked, veiled figure appear in the corner of her eye. She found herself frozen to the spot as her benefactor glided over to stand before her, staring at her with eyes she could not see.

“Everything was as you said,” Merrill said nervously. “Barely any guards. The stables unlocked.”

“Finally,” the veiled figure said. “The Herald of Andraste, complete with The Anchor, at my beck and call. The key to the physical Fade in my hands...”

“OUR hands,” Merrill said sternly. “We use The Inquisitor to bring Hawke back before we do anything else. That was our agreement. That was the plan.”

“Yes, yes,” the veiled figure said. “Come. Bring the Herald. This rift is this way.”

“Wait!” Merrill said as the figure glided off. “I just want to know something. Why? Why help me? Why convince me to do this? How do you gain from this?”

The veiled figure turned to face Merrill, smiling an obscured smile.

“We all have our wants,” the figure responded cryptically. “There was more to my co-operation than mere charity, but rest assured you shall have what you want. After your precious Hawke is saved, all shall become clear.”

“But who are you?” Merrill asked, all the questions she’d ever had since meeting this strange person finally pouring out. “Even after all this time we’ve been working together, I still don’t know your name. I’ve never even seen your face. Please, we’ve come too far for there to be any more secrets.”

The veiled figure paused for a moment, considering what had been said, and then raised their hands up their face. They pulled away the thick veil over their face, lifting it up to reveal the face of a darkly beautiful young woman with black-painted lips, a pale face and heavily lidded eyes.

“Face to face at last,” said Lady Vayl. “Now come, young girl. Time to sunder the heavens.”


	4. Asunder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merrill and Lady Vayl prepare to have the enthralled Mercuria open a rift to sunder The Fade and bring Hawke back, while Varric and Cullen lead Inquisition forces in their pursuit

Lady Vayl glided effortlessly through the forest, as if she were lighter than air, Merrill’s nervous bare footsteps putting her several paces behind her benefactor. Mercuria, as ever, trailed along wordlessly, a blank shell of a person.

“I am no mage,” Lady Vayl said, not looking back at Merrill. “But even I can sense the ancient magic here. Can you, my dear? Do you sense the electric potential?”

Merrill could indeed. The lush green forest was alive, nature itself bound together among the trees with a beautiful force that made the hair on Merrill’s soft skin bristle. She drank in the power, rejuvenated as it filled her. This was one of the most sacred places to all elven people, Merrill realised. Never before had she felt a closer connection to The Beyond.

However, there was a sickness in the air. A wound in the force that bound this place together, a tear in natural order. It could be one thing, Merrill realised with a churning stomach. A tear in The Veil. A rift into the physical Fade.

“You can feel it, can’t you?” Lady Vayl said, smiling coyly. “The rift. The doorway to The Beyond, just waiting for a key...”

There was anticipation in Lady Vayl’s voice now, a true anticipation. Not for the first time since meeting this mysterious woman in the streets of Kirkwall, Merrill felt uncertain. It was only now that she’d seen her face and, a little later, learned her named. If ‘Lady Vayl’ even was her name. Doubt crept back into Merrill’s mind as she felt herself once again pondering the motives of this mysterious woman who had gone out of her way to help Merrill on her quest to return Hawke to the world.

“Just a little further...” Lady Vayl said, her voice now nought but an excited whisper.

And she was right.

There, just past the next tree, the rift. A huge, twisting aurora of green energy, a tear in everything that made up all things. It was breathtaking. It was hideous. It was abhorrent. But, dear Creators, Merrill thought, it was beautiful.

The Anchor on Mercuria’s hand had lit up and was coursing with more and more energy the closer they got to the rift. It was time.

“And so,” Lady Vayl muttered under her breath. “The heavens were torn asunder.”

***

The Inquisition rode on through The Emerald Graves, hot on the trail of their kidnapped leader.

“They can’t be far!” Commander Cullen called back to his men, gritting his teeth as he rode on through the forest. “Maker,” he muttered. “This terrain...”

“We have to dismount!” Varric cried to him. “Too many roots! The horses will just slow us down!”

“You what?” Sera exclaimed. “We’re not letting them get away!” And with that, Sera boldly leapt from her steed and charged off into the forest without warning, her horse trotting around with confusion.

Sighing, Cullen gestured to the other to dismount.

“Sir,” Jarther Slaction, the Inquisition mage, walked up to Cullen to inform him. “I can sense The Inquisitor up ahead, with some sort of disturbance in The Fade. Possibly a rift, sir.”

“A rift?” Cullen was puzzled. “Well it explains why she’d need The Inquisitor.”

“No point in wasting time thinking!” Varric said hurriedly, drawing Bianca and running off. “After them!”

“Do you think I still trust you, dwarf?” Cullen asked, easily catching up with Varric and jogging alongside him, the Inquisition soldiers following closely behind. “You’ve been in league with this maleficar before.”

“Can it, Curly,” Varric retorted.

As the group passed over a rise they saw Sera hiding behind a tree, bow drawn. Beyond the tree was Merrill, Mercuria, a pale woman in a dress and a rift. Mercuria was pouring energy from The Anchor into the rift.

“What’s she doing?” Cullen muttered. “Is she finishing sealing the rift? There are few signs of battle with demons.”

“I... I don’t think so, sir,” Jarther Slaction said, squatting next to him. “I think they’re making her open it.”

***

Mercuria poured energy from The Anchor into the rift, slowly opening the gateway to The Fade.

“Yes!” Lady Vayl said. “Open it! Sunder The Veil, tear open this doorway to the unknown!”

“How do we know Hawke will be on the other side?” Merrill cried over the noise from the opening rift. “How will we find her?”

Lady Vayl ignored her, instead gesturing behind her.

“The Inquisition!” Lady Vayl cried as several Inquisition soldiers appeared from behind the cover of several trees to charge them. “They cannot be allowed to stop us!”

As the soldiers charged down a small hill towards them Merrill boldly splayed out her hand, tapped into the natural mana of the forest and sent out a burst of energy that knocked the soldiers off of their feet. Merrill saw Cullen stumble and fall, as well as the elven girl who had shared The Inquisitor’s bed. One of the party, however, a dwarf, wasn’t affected as greatly by the spell and instead merely tripped, rolled down the hill to land at Merrill’s feet. It was only when he got up and grabbed his huge crossbow that Merrill saw who he was.

“Varric?”

“Daisy?” Varric said, pulling himself up and staring agog at the scene around him. “Daisy, what the hell are you doing? Why in the name of all things damn crazy are you opening a rift?”

“It’s the only way!” Merrill cried, backing away from him and towards Lady Vayl. “It’s the only way to bring her back!”

“Bring who...?” Varric’s eyes widened. “Andraste’s ass... Hawke...”

The rest of The Inquisition had recovered and gotten up, drawing their weapons. Sera fired an arrow at Merrill that the elven mage narrowly dodged, and the lithe elven rogue dashed up to Mercuria and grabbed her.

“Buckles!” Sera said, shaking the blank-faced Inquisitor with despair. “Buckles, snap out of it!” But Mercuria couldn’t hear her.

“Charge!” Cullen cried, pointing his sword at Merrill and Lady Vayl. “Kill them before they can open the rift!”

The Inquisition soldiers charged but had barely made one step before an enormous shockwave of green energy knocked them off their feet. Merrill turned with shock to see, past the blank face of Mercuria and the gleeful expression of Lady Vayl, that the rift had opened.

The rift was extremely unstable. Possibly as a result of Mercuria’s blood magic enthrallment corrupting the spell the rift was churning and twisted violently, spitting out swathes of wounded demons, fired out violent bolts of lightning and emitting a fierce, powerful wind. The demon horde surged towards the Inquisition soldiers, several of whom were cut down before they could pull together a proper defence. Varric and Sera stared in horror at the rift.

“Buckles!” Sera cried at Mercuria. “Why? Why are you doing this? Fight it!”

Merrill sent a mental command to Mercuria and the Qunari mage, emotionless face still staring wordlessly at Sera, splayed out her hand and sent the elven rogue flying. Sera hit a nearby tree with a thud, slid down it and didn’t get up.

“Men!” Cullen cried, cutting down a demon with one hand and pointing at Merrill with the other. “Kill her! Free The Inquisitor! She’s the only one who can stop this!”

“Curly, no!” Varric cried, but Jarther Slaction had already broken off from the main body of soldiers who were engaging the demons and was running towards Merrill, fists ablaze with flame. He had only made a couple of steps, however, when a stray bolt of energy from the rift struck him.

Jarther Slaction let out a hideous scream as whatever demonic energy had been in the bolt took over, twisting his body and soul alike. His flesh turned purple and his skin twisted as his body grew to hideous proportions, his clothes ripped and armour shattering. Finally, the transformation stopped. Jarther Slaction had become an Abomination.

“Lady Vayl!” Merrill cried back to her benefactor, who was inexplicably struggling against the winds from the rift and walking _towards_ it. “The rift is out of control! Where is Hawke? What are you doing? We have to do something!”

Realising she was being ignored, Merrill battled against the winds and ran up to Lady Vayl. As soon as she got close enough Lady Vayl lashed out and slapped Merrill, knocking her to the ground with a shock.

“Wh-what?” Merrill asked, stunned.

“Foolish girl!” Lady Vayl hissed. “Stay out of my way!”

“Why?” Merrill asked. “Why are you doing this?”

“Did you truly believe I had any interest in your petty love affair, girl?” Lady Vayl cried mockingly as she carried on towards the rift, which was still spewing out demons. “I needed a blood mage, one with a motivation to enthral and force The Inquisitor to open a rift, but one that would not turn on me before the deed was done. You were the only one who fit these specific criteria.”

“But why are you doing this?” Merrill cried.

“Why does anyone wish to walk physically in The Fade?” Lady Vayl cackled. “Why did Corypheus? Immortality! The Elder One may have returned from The Black City a twisted monster, but he was a twisted monster who could not die! I will enter The Black City and I will have my Ascension!”

Merrill looked around in desperation. Varric was trying to fend off a shade with Bianca’s bayonet, the Abomination and demons were tearing through the Inquisition soldiers and Mercuria, with no additional commands, was standing motionless in the centre of the battlefield. Merrill pulled herself up to run after Lady Vayl and strike her down, but she suddenly found herself shoved aggressively to the ground. Looking up with horror, Merrill saw Commander Cullen furiously raising his blade over his head to cut her down.

“Time to die, maleficar!” Cullen cried. “For The Inquisitor!”


	5. Love Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rift is open, spewing out legions of demons while Lady Vayl seeks to pass through it and achieve immortality in The Black City. Cullen is about to cut down a defenceless Merrill, an Abomination is tearing through the Inquisition soldiers, Sera is out of the fight and The Inquisitor, the only person who can save them all, is enthralled by blood magic. There is only one person left who can save Thedas.

_Head stinging, something rough rubbing up against skin, noise getting louder, shapes getting clearer_

Sera stirred back into consciousness, her eyes snapping open.

_Battle everywhere, lots of demons, people dying, big monster_

Sera saw the Abomination tearing through the Inquisition soldiers, clenching her fists and gritting her teeth as the monster ripped a man in half with a single spell. She clutched frantically at the empty air around her hand.

_Bow not here, must have been dropped, bitch elf made Buckles hurt me, won’t forget, need weapon, got to kill monster_

A burst of intuition coming over her, Sera reached down to her boot and pulled out the knife that was sheathed in it. Grinned with anticipation, Sera leapt up at charged at the Abomination.

_Stop it, kill it, save everyone, save Buckles_

Snarling as she ran at full pelt towards the Abomination, Sera felt her stomach churn as the creature turned its hideous head to look at her. Not slowing for a second, however, Sera leapt at the creature and swung the blade upwards, sticking it into the Abomination’s mouth and impaling it through the head. The Abomination’s twisted face displayed something akin to a look of shock while Sera, still grinning madly, sprung up into the air and kicked the Abomination firmly with two feet. Sera used the Abomination’s chest as a launching pad to spring away from the creature and land in a crouch a few meters away, ensuring she was just far enough away when the Abomination died and exploded in a ball of flame.

_Not bad_

***

Lady Vayl fought against the violent winds that billowed from the unstable rift, gritted her teeth and squinting as she marched on forwards. Each step forward was like walking through treacle, she was going at the pace of a snail as the winds pushed her back. But she was getting closer. Each step took her that little bit closer to that churning rift that spat out demons and fired out bolts of energy.

Each step took her closer to Ascension.

***

Merrill screamed as Cullen brought down the blade, closing her eyes until-

Nothing.

Merrill heard a yelping sound and opened her eyes. Cullen’s sword lay on the ground a few feet away from him, and his gauntlets were dented. A couple of feet away from him was Varric, who was coldly pointing Bianca at Cullen’s chest.

“Curly,” Varric said plainly. “Step away from her.”

“You can’t be serious!” Cullen exclaimed, gesturing wildly to the devastation and demons around them. “Look at everything she’s done! My men’s deaths are on her hands!”

“Curly,” Varric said, a steely edge to his voice. “I won’t ask again.”

Cullen opened his mouth to argue, but Merrill took advantage of the distraction and cast a hex upon the commander. Cullen reeled back, screaming and batting at enemies that weren’t there as the spell seized control of his mind, giving Varric a chance to strike up and knock Cullen out with the butt of his crossbow.

“Varric!” Merrill exclaimed, getting to her feet. “Varric, thank you!”

“What the hell are you doing, Daisy?” Varric stared up at her, horrified. He gestured to the corpses of Inquisition soldiers around them, to the demons who were finishing off the last of them, to Lady Vayl making her way to the rift. “Look at what you’re doing!” Varric stared up at Merrill with pleading eyes. “Daisy, please! That woman has manipulated you! You have to free The Inquisitor and make her seal the rift! Please, Daisy!”

“I can’t!” Merrill cried, tears beginning to pour down her face. She backed away from a pleading Varric, hands outstretched, a desperate look on her face. “I have to keep it open! It’s the only way to bring her back!”

“HAWKE IS DEAD!” Varric screamed. “I was there! I was at Adamant! I saw Mercuria and Loghain come through the rift without her! I had Cassandra tell me what had happened after! Do you think I don’t want her back? That I don’t lie awake every night praying and praying for my best friend to come back? But I don’t go and do something like this! And why? Because I can accept that she’s dead, Daisy! She’s dead, and she’s not coming back!”

Merrill was in floods of tears now, her legs becoming weak. She collapsed to the ground, sobbing as the rift churned and twisted behind her. As Varric ran up to her and put his arm around her, she lifted up her head and wiped her eyes. There was some steely resolution in her glare now.

“I’ll do it,” Merrill said firmly. “I’ll stop this.”

Merrill leapt into action and pointed her finger at Mercuria, who was still stood motionless in the middle of the battlefield, and clicked her fingers. Just like that, the spell was lifted, and Mercuria collapsed to the ground.

“Buckles!”

Sera ran over to Mercuria, holding a singed and bloodied knife. Slowly, The Inquisitor pulled herself up and her eyes opened.

“I... what?” Mercuria said, voice bleary and full of confusion.

“No time to ask!” Sera cried, and kissed Mercuria full on the lips. After breaking away Sera pointed at the rift frantically, gesturing wildly. “You close rifts! That’s what you do! Close this one!”

Mercuria pulled herself up, her Mark buzzing with energy, and took a moment to gather her surroundings.

And then she fired the full power of the Anchor at the rift.

The beam of green energy poured from the Anchor, striking the rift and slowly beating it back. The rift, still churning and twisting, began to slowly and graceless collapse in on itself. The winds pouring from the rift picked up, now at near hurricane level, but The Inquisitor stood strong against the tempest as she poured more and more energy into the unstable rift. The demons around the battlefield screamed as they turned to dust as the rift grew tighter and tighter shut.

“Buckles!” Sera cried, looking up at Mercuria. There was blood pouring from The Inquisitor’s nose. “What’s happening?”

“I... I can do it!” Mercuria said defiantly. “The rift is unstable... it’s fighting back... but I can do it!”

“No!” screeched a voice from near the rift. “No! You can’t do this!”

Mercuria glanced over in shock to see Lady Vayl battling through the winds, desperately clawing at the rift, but had no time to think about her. It was taking everything she had to press on, to keep sealing the rift, to pour that energy in...

BAM

There was an almighty crash as the rift was violently slammed shut. Mercuria was thrown backwards, her arm almost snapping with the recoil, and the rift let out a huge explosive burst of energy as it was crudely sealed. Lady Vayl was disintegrated instantly, the wave of energy reducing her to a cloud of dust, and as the winds ceased and the energy storm ended everyone could finally catch their breath.

“Buckles!” Sera cried gleefully, leaping up into Mercuria’s arms. The two lovers embraced each other, each holding the other as tightly as they could amidst the dust and bodies that lay around them.

“Dammit, Daisy...” Varric said, relief passing over him as he sat down with graceless thud and looked at Merrill. “You did it.”

Merrill said nothing, she simply stared blankly at the floor.

“Maleficar.”

Everyone turned to see Cullen standing behind Merrill, eyes filled with anger, his sword at her throat.

“In the name of The Inquisitor and her Inquisition,” Commander Cullen said coldly. “I am arresting you for every crime under our Maker’s sun. You will be found guilty and you will be executed by my hand.”

“Like hell!” Sera cried, rushing over and scooping her bow up from the floor, notching an arrow into it. She pulled back the bowstring and took aim at Merrill. “After what she did to Buckles, filling her up with demon crap, I’ll be killing her, that’s for sure.”

“Wait!” Mercuria cried, dashing over. “What’s going on here? Who is this girl?”

“Someone who’s coming home with me.”

Varric was on his feet within seconds, Bianca held tightly in his grip, bolts loaded. He pointed the crossbow at Cullen, then at Sera, then back at Cullen, drifting between the two with a steely look in his eye while Merrill sat there, dead to the world.

“Varric,” Cullen seethed. “I made it clear that you would not stand in my way...”

“And I made it clear that nothing was happening to this girl,” Varric said, his cold and emotionless voice sending shivers down Mercuria’s spine. “Curly, if you try anything, if you even move funny, I’ll kill you. Then I’ll kill Buttercup. Maybe, if she looks at me funny, I’ll kill her first. And Inquisitor, ma’am, if you move against me, I’ll kill you too.”

Judging by his tone of voice, no-one doubted him.

“I don’t know who she is or what’s going on here,” Mercuria said warily. “But I want everyone to put their weapons down. We’re going back to Skyhold.”

“I... I...” Sera stuttered, before sighing and removing the arrow. She slung her bow over her back. “Oh, screw it.”

“And you, Curly,” Varric said, levelling Bianca to aim her at Cullen’s head.

“You cannot be serious,” Cullen said, his sword arm not wavering. “This maleficar was conspiring with a woman who sought to sunder The Veil. Had she succeeded, she could have been working with the next Corypheus. And she is a blood mage.”

“I’m not hearing you, Curly,” Varric’s arm didn’t waver either. “All I see is a heartbroken, manipulated girl who just wanted the woman she loves back. And I also see the Templar who wants to murder her. We killed Templars, me and my friends back in Kirkwall. That’s what we did. Don’t assume I’ll drop that habit so quickly.”

Varric gestured for Merrill to get up and stand by him, and, nervously, she did. Cullen’s blade was still trained on her, as was Sera’s glare, but as Merrill took her place behind Varric he never once lowered his weapon.

“I’m taking this girl back to Kirkwall,” Varric said. Long gone was the fun, friendly and fatherly Varric they all knew and loved. This was a far colder, more callous creature. “If any of you try and stop me, I’ll kill you. If you follow me, I’ll kill you. If you send people after me, I’ll kill them and then go back for you. If I hear of ANYTHING happening to her after I leave, I’ll kill you all. Understood?”

Nobody said a word. But that was enough.

“Come on Daisy,” Varric said. “We’re going home.”

***

Varric stood in the doorway of Merrill’s home, watching the young elven girl’s chest rise and fall as she slept alone in her bed.

“I know you’re here, Mercuria.”

Varric didn’t have to look behind him to know that Mercuria was standing behind him. Slowly, she walked over to stand by him.

“So what now?” Mercuria asked simply. “Do you kill me?”

Varric sighed and shook his head. “No. I just... I don’t have many friends left, Mercuria. Not friends that are special to me, anyhow. None that are close by. I don’t want to lose any more, especially not her. I... I don’t blame her. I don’t blame her for what she did.”

Mercuria said nothing, just putting an arm around Varric.

“Could you do it?” Varric said softly. “Could you bring her back? Open a rift, go and find her?”

“I don’t know,” Mercuria said simply. “Maybe someday I could try. Maybe. But the chances, and the risk...”

“I get it,” Varric said, hanging his head. “I get it...”

Varric slowly walked over to the sleeping Merrill, holding her slim and pale hand in his thick, stubby one. He held it for a while, looking over her lovingly, before putting it gently down and turning away.

“It’s good to be back in Kirkwall,” Varric said softly. “But... I think it’s best we leave.”

“Come on, friend,” Mercuria said to Varric, putting an arm around him and guiding him out of the house. “It’s time to go home.”

***

_Merrill dreamt that night._

_She dreamt she was in a forest, with thin white trees topped with pink blossom, the petals raining down to cover the soft forest floor in a floral blanket. She dreamt that the air was fresh and clean and that the magic in the air sang to her and made her whole._

_She dreamt that she was not alone._

_“Merrill,” Hawke said as she sat beside her. “This is a beautiful place.”_

_“I always like to come here in my dreams,” Merrill said, resting her head on Hawke’s shoulder and taking her hand. “It’s so peaceful. So beautiful. I love the trees, I love being with nature... and I love being with you.”_

_“And I love being with you,” Hawke said. “That’s why I love you.”_

_The two lovers sat on the forest floor, each feeling the warmth coming off the other._

_“I... I know you’re probably not real,” Merrill said hesitantly. “I know you’re in The Fade, where dreams come from, so it could be you... but I know you’re probably just a kindly spirit. Or maybe just my imagination.”_

_“True,” Hawke said. “But as there’s no way of knowing, does it really matter?”_

_“No,” Merrill said. “I... I suppose not.”_

_Merrill then turned to look up at Hawke. There were tears in her eyes._

_“It’s not fair...” Merrill said, her voice shaking. “Why? Why did it have to be you? Why not anyone else?” Merrill felt Hawke squeeze her hand. “It’s not fair. I love you. We were meant to spend the rest of our lives together. We were meant to live forever in Kirkwall, we were going to get married, we were going to have children. We... we were going to grow old together.”_

_“It had to be me,” Hawke said simply, a slight tremor in her voice as a tear appeared in her eye. “It was always going to be me. That’s what happens when you live lives like ours.”_

_“I... I...” Merrill’s bottom lip began to tremble. She looked away from Hawke and back at the forest. “I... Hawke, look. Look. It... it’s snowing. Little white flakes.”_

_And it was. Pristine little white snowflakes, falling gently from the sky to land on the ground before them. Merrill caught one, smiling at the cold nip on her palm. Slowly, the snow began to blanket everything until the whole forest around them was pure white._

_“I don’t care if you’re not real,” Merrill said, resting her head once again on Hawke’s shoulder. “It doesn’t matter. Because you, this moment, and everything in it, is real to me.”_

_And so those two lovers sat down in the snow-covered forest and spent that one last beautiful night in each other’s arms._


End file.
